Publius Quinctilius Varus

Publius Quinctilius Varus (46 BC-9 AD) was a Roman general and politician during the reign of Augustus. He notably crushed the Jerusalem revolt of 4 BC, and committed suicide following his disastrous defeat at the hands of the Germanic tribes at the Battle of Teutoburg Forest in 9 AD.

Biography
Publius Quinctilius Varus was born in Cremona, Roman Republic in 46 BC, and he came from an unimportant and financially humbled patrician family. His father, a quaestor, committed suicide following the Battle of Philippi in 42 BC, and the younger Varus came to support Octavian before and after he became emperor. In 8 BC, Varus was sent to govern Africa Proconsularis, and he went to govern Syria from 7 to 4 BC. He was known for his harsh rule and high taxes, and, in 4 BC, he crucified 2,000 Jewish rebels after a failed revolt against Herod Antipas. Afterwards, Varus returned to Rome for several years, and, in 6 AD, he was appointed to govern Germania after Emperor Tiberius declared Germany pacified. In 9 AD, the Germanic prince and Roman ally Arminius warned Varus that there was a Germanic revolt, so Varus led an army to suppress it. However, Arminius had actually planned an ambush of the Roman army, and the Germans defeated the legions in detail at the Battle of Teutoburg Forest. Varus fell on his own sword rather than return home in disgrace, and Arminius severed his head and sent it to the Marcomanni king Marbod; Marbod declined the offer and sent it to Rome for burial. For years afterwards, a distraught Emperor Augustus moaned, "Varus, give me back my legions!"